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Digital and data-driven market expansion

In conjunction with SAP Malaysia’s 25th anniversary, its Managing Director Terrence Yong together with one of their biggest and long-time customer, DKSH Malaysia, hosted a media briefing to talk about their collaboration together.

DKSH is a market expansion services provider, and having been established in Malaysia since 1923, DKSH Malaysia offers its brand owner clients and end users, a portfolio of services all along the entire value chain, from sourcing to research and analysis, to marketing and sales, distribution, logistics and also after-sales services.

DKSH’s Global Head for the Healthcare Business Unit, Andrew Frye recognised technology’s role as a backbone for building strategy and providing transparency, something which SAP provides in the form of a global SAP platform that supports DKSH’s over 550,000 customers, 30,320 specialists and 8,000 SAP users worldwide,

The DKSH Shared Services Center, is one of the organisation’s core SAP environments running out of Malaysia, which also supports the generation of over 45,000 invoices, daily, according to DKSH CIO, Michael Hutab.

Data gold mine

The real-time, data-driven reports that are also generated, help to track sales, develop further growth plans, plan for headcount and also inventory.

Frye also shared that these reports have provided actionable insight for human resource management, for example workflow processes; tools have been designed to encourage data input not more than once.

Trends also emerge from the data they have collected in each of their four business units, Healthcare, FMCG, Performance Materials and Technology. For Healthcare, for example, all of the data they have collected over the years have revealed trends in oncology, or the study and treatment of tumours.

Frye added, “Clear, reliable data is a cornerstone for operating success. SAP is definitely a part of that.”

More tech in the DKSH’s future

SAP Malaysia’s MD said, “DKSH is poised to take on growth because of their strong technology foundation.”

This foundation can enable greater efficiency, for example a suite of products that can remotely monitor inventory via barcode technology, which can help to ensure that the right medical equipment is at the right operating theatre at the right time, for instance. This remote virtual inventory capability would also be able to detect low levels and start the process to replenish supplies, if needed.

That is not all.

Since two years ago, DKSH has been investing heavily to develop capabilities in digital marketing and e-commerce. As part of their efforts to capitalise on rising e-commerce trends in Asia, they have already taken 20-percent stake in Acommerce from Indonesia and 51-percent stake in Shanghai-based eSweets.

Commenting at the time when eSweets was acquired in Q4, 2016, DKSH CEO at that time Dr. Joerg Wolle who has since been succeeded by Stefan Butz in March 2017, had said, “For quite some time, in a strategic and targeted way, DKSH has been expanding its activities in the online segment, further creating value for our clients and customers.

“Wherever we create or satisfy demand, DKSH actively secures and expands it presence. At the same time, targeted suitable acquisitions support our successful strategy of sustainable profitable growth.”

Frye echoed this with, “We are looking at bolt-on acquisitions where we can also acquire local talent, tech capability and market capability.